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DIXON QUALIFIES 13TH AT JOLIET

DIXON QUALIFIES 13TH AT JOLIET
WITH JUST TWO SESSIONS COMPLETED DUE TO RAIN
JOLIET, Ill. ? Two-time defending NHRA Top Fuel champion Larry Dixon qualified his ?Vote Miller for President of Beers? dragster in the No. 13 position Saturday at Route 66 Raceway.
For the second straight day, Mother Nature proved she?s no drag racing fan as NHRA officials were force to cancel the fourth and final Top Fuel qualifying session due to thunderstorms. Saturday?s opening round of qualifying also was delayed due to rain.
The 33-time NHRA winner blasted his Don Prudhomme-owned dragster to a performance of 4.653 seconds at 308.78 mph on his only qualifying attempt of the day, besting the 4.797 elapsed time that Dixon posted on Friday.
?The only thing that I?m frustrated about is that we have a better car and a better team than what we showed in qualifying,? Dixon said. ?The two sessions that got canceled really hurt us. So, we?ll just have to play the cards we?re dealt and see how it goes tomorrow.?
Dixon, who won at Route 66 Raceway in 2002, will face Doug Kalitta in the opening round of Top Fuel eliminations, which begin at 11 a.m. (CT). Dixon has an 18-12 career mark versus Kalitta.
ESPN2 will televise two hours of qualifying highlights from the Route 66 NHRA Nationals beginning at 10 p.m. (ET) on Saturday, May 22 and show three hours of final eliminations at 7 p.m. (ET) on Sunday, May 23.
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